Authors

• Ajit Jha, Assistant Professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), New Delhi
• Surya Tewari, Assistant Professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), New Delhi

Slums are an inseparable part of the urban landscape. A product of the urban economy, these become partners in the growth and expansion of the same. However, the growth of slums is not a healthy development and exhibits an exclusive character of the urban. For inclusiveness of the urban, as stressed in various programmes, it is crucial that the socioeconomic condition of the people residing in slums be improved. In the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19, the need for such upgradation has become all the more imminent. The paper focuses on the level of amenities in slums and evaluates the national level programmes/schemes aimed at slum redevelopment. Both these aspects have been examined with respect to slums located in 52 million-plus cities in India. The analysis is based on the Slum Data for 2011 of Census of India and government reports and websites. As expected, a significant proportion of the slum population of states resides in their respective million-plus cities. On an average one-third of the slum population of the states resides in these cities. The amenities vary across size and class. The benefits of various schemes/programmes assessed in the paper appear to be marginal and insignificant for the slum population in these cities.